Abstract
This paper provides a review of the current state of the gender gap in computer science and highlights how immersive games can mitigate this issue. Game-based learning (GBL) applications have been shown to successfully incite motivation in students and increase learning efficiency in both formal and non-formal educational settings. With the rise of GBL, researchers have also used virtual reality to provide pupils with a more immersive learning experience. Both GBL and virtual reality techniques are also used for computer programming education. However, there is a paucity of applications that utilize these techniques to incite interest in computer science from a female perspective. This is a cause for concern as immersive games have been proven to be capable of inciting affective motivation and fostering positive attitudes towards specific subjects. Hence, this review summarises the benefits and limitations of GBL and virtual reality; how males and females respond to certain game elements; and suggestions to aid in the development of immersive games to increase female participation in the field of computer science.
Highlights
The projected number of degrees awarded to females was estimated to increase from 39 percent in 1966 to 61 percent in 2019 [1]
By using educational games in a classroom environment, students can be more engaged and www.ijacsa.thesai.org encouraged to actively participate in lessons because Game-based learning (GBL) focuses on students instead of teachers [46]
This lowers their confidence levels and sense of belonging which often leads to student dropouts. This is the root of the issue that must be immediately resolved. It is worth discussing how the use of GBL and virtual reality or combinations of both techniques can help solve issues related to the gender gap in computing (RQ1)
Summary
The projected number of degrees awarded to females was estimated to increase from 39 percent in 1966 to 61 percent in 2019 [1]. Despite the increasing number of degrees awarded to females, only about 35 percent of them are enrolled in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses [2]. The gender gap is most prominent in the field of computer science, where estimates of the ratio of male to female enrolment at tertiary level are approximately 70:30 as of 2019 [4]. This may be attributed to the gender gap in computer science advance placements (AP) test-takers where there were 52,574 males to just 17,111 females in 2019 [5]. There are several contributing reasons for this, the main factor stems from stereotypical representations of STEM-related fields that implicitly deter females and give them an incorrect perception of what the field is made of [6]
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